This traditional French county dessert can be made in your mixer or with a blender. We, of course, made it in our mixer with a SideSwipe! It's not very photogenic, but, boy is it delicious! If you're not familiar with this dessert, it's a sort of baked custard studded with seasonal fruit. A clafoutis (also clafouti) is traditionally made with cherries, but  peaches and even blueberries, or a combination, can be used.

What we like best about clafoutis is that it tastes fabulous and it's super simple to make. Just be sure not to overbake it. For the best consistency, about 35 minutes is best; just watch for the edges to begin to turn golden brown. The center will still be a little jiggly (but not sloshing around). Don't worry, though, even if you bake it a little too long, it's still delicious.

We made this recipe without a trip to the store, so we used 2 percent milk for the milk and cream portions. It yielded a slightly less decadent clafoutis, but was still delicious. And a little less rich for those counting calories.

This recipe, from chezbonnefemme, uses a spiked whipped cream. We used plain.

This recipe serves about 6. The leftovers make a delicious breakfast, but it's not likely you'll find out. Our pan was scraped clean!

• 12  pitted fresh sweet cherries
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or sugar substitute)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy) or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free)
• 1 cup whole milk (can sub with 2%)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Sweetened Spiked Whipped Cream: Place 3/4 cup cold heavy cream into a chilled mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and 2 teaspoons kirsch (cherry brandy) or other cherry-flavored liqueur. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
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Here's a pumpkin doughnut recipe that we really like for fall. Easy to put together, you can bake the batter in special doughnut pans or make them as muffins or as donut holes in your mini muffin pan. Moist, tender and packed with pumpkin and just the right amount of spice, you'll want to add these to your autumn baking rotation.

These doughnuts are delicious plain, but if you're hankering for a sweet treat, try them with the brown sugar icing. Sooo good!

This recipe is very slightly adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction. It makes 12-14 doughnuts.

Take advantage of blueberry season with this homey, scrumptious and easy-to-make blueberry cobbler. Featuring a soft cake topping and a hint of orange in the fruit layer, it's sure to please! You'll love that it's not too sweet or heavy for the summer months.

We squeezed some clementines we had languishing in our refrigerator for the orange juice and it added a lovely flavor, we think. But any OJ will do.

​This recipe, adapted from one we found on allrecipes.com, will make either an 8x8 cobbler or 4-6 ramekins for individual portions. If you have a lot of cobbler lovers, you can double the recipe and make in a 9x13 pan.

Serve warm or at room temperature, with a dollop or whipped cream or a big scoop of ice cream. Any way you eat it, it's delicious!

In a small bowl or large measuring cup, thoroughly mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoons over blueberry mixture. For a tidier look, spread batter to cover as much of the blueberry mixture as possible.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with powdered sugar, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream. Leftovers (if there are any) will keep for a day at room temperature or a few days in the fridge.

Do you wonder how and when you should sift your ingredients? Is sifting really necessary?

For most recipes where you use a stand mixer - like cakes, cookies, cheesecakes - it's fine to combine your dry ingredients with a whisk. Whisking breaks up most lumps, including when you're incorporating cocoa powder (which can be clumpy).

When should you sift? When the recipe calls for it! Sifting is called for when you are folding dry ingredients gently into delicate, wet batter like angel food cake or our recent madeleines. 

Do you need a sifter? We don't use one. We use a fine-mesh sieve over a piece of parchment paper or a bowl. A sieve can be used in many other ways and justifies its place in our kitchen.

Happy Baking!

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